Contaminated soil Metagenome

This study aimed at elucidating the effects of PAH contamination on soil bacterial community structure over time. The PAH phenanthrene was added to soil, and 50 g microcosms were set up and destructively sampled at 0, 3, 7 and 17 days following amendment. The unamended controls were also sampled. The V1-V3 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced using the Roche-454 system. We found that Gram positive PAH degraders dominated the PAH-amended soils after 7 days of incubation, whilst some PAH-degrading Gram negative bacteria also responded.